I like...

I wanna make you mine...

One thing I love about live gigs is the support act. It's so hit and miss... And I've seen many misses. Earlier this week the support for Friendly Fires was Miami Horror. These lads have been on my periphery for a little while but had never really made any impact. Seeing them live brought them into full view and I loved em. I don't think either Scott or Kookyknut were that impressed, but I certainly was. The lead singer was a little off and I think studio sessions suit him. But these guys really had a great sound. Naturally one song stood out more than the others and hearing it live instantly converted me into a fan.

That song was "Make You Mine". There's just something about the combination of these lyrics and this music that makes me relate to this tune so much. My fave line is: "No need to ask, just come to me when your in need of some romancing." So here it is:



All the those troubles that you've got
That you can't seem to forget
Or is it something that you've inside
That lingers on inside your head

Baby, you've got me feeling it in my feet
You've got me dancing
No need to ask, just come to me
When your in need of some romancing

Baby, you've got me feeling it in my feet
You've got me dancing
All the worries in your mind
just let 'em go and start advancing

When your fighting for affection
When your feelings aren't as clear Oooohhh
I got a cure for your afflictions?
To make the panic disappear

All the those troubles that you've got
That you can't seem to forget
Or is it something that you've inside
That lingers on inside your head

Baby, you've got me feeling it in my feet
You've got me dancing
No need to ask, just come to me
When your in need of some romancing

Baby, you've got me feeling it in my feet
You've got me dancing
All the worries in your mind
Just let 'em go and start advancing

And when you need some piece of mind
You know I'm never hard to find
All those feelings that you hide
Always stirring deep inside
And if you ever feel inclined
Now girl, you know I'll find the time
On the dance floor I'll provide
And shake our hips as we collide

And when you need some piece of mind
You know I'm never hard to find
All those feelings that you hide
Always stirring deep inside
And if you ever feel inclined
Now girl, you know i'll find the time
On the dance floor I'll provide
And shake our hips as we collide

Baby, you've got me feeling it in my feet
You've got me dancing
No need to ask, just come to me
When your in need of some romancing

Baby, you've got me feeling it in my feet
You've got me dancing
All the worries in your mind
Just let 'em go and start advancing

It's like Willy Wonka for adults...

The XXXX brewery tour. Beyond these magical gates lies an enchanted world of amber. Well, that's what I had hoped for anyway, but instead I think we entered the Land of Lame.
But let's not let that get in the way of a beer. Did you know beer was served with a side of penguin in Ancient Egypt? No, neither did we but our good friend Pengy came along for the journey and got up to all sorts of mischief choosing to ignore the signs that said "Look with your eyes not your fingers!"
We had hoped to get photos of Pengy scooting along the conveyor belt of beer bottles a-la Laverne and Shirley style, but alas we were not allowed to take photos inside the actual factory. Here's one for the ladies (Yes, that's what happens to your vision after drinking a few of these babies!).To me it's a concern when the beer has the term "invalid" in the title. I wonder how well this beer would do today?
"Excuse me Sir, please don't sit in the exhibit. Look with your eyes not your fingers!" is what I expected someone to say to me, but alas, there was not a single person in sight. At the end of the tour you are rewarded with some of the precious fluid we came to admire. However, you are only allowed to have one XXX. Yes, XXX . Not XXXX, but the lesser known XXX. We opted to pay for a few extra as the alcohol content of this brew was slightly higher than the rest. All smiles here.What afternoon on this side of the city would not be complete with out a trip to the Paddo Tavern? Brisbane's most famous drinking establishment... especially during football season. The line up to get in here before a State of Origin match begins the day before. Once you're inside you'll either be involved in a fight and be asked to leave or leave in an ambulance. It's tradition.
Ahhhhh, we were happy chappies at the end of the day. Go figure.
Thanks to Mark for taking me along for this journey into the history of beer drinking in Queensland.

School night rock...

There's something so satisfying about going and seeing live music on a school night. Something even more satisfying when the band totally rocks your night. Friendly Fires certainly did that for me last night.

These lads know how to put together a good song. Their melodies, bass and rhythms all go together to make the most enjoyable loud thumpin' arse shakin' experience.

Yes, I could not help but close my eyes on the dance floor and forget about you...
They closed the night with this tune which is one of my faves:


Ok, just one more. This one IS my fave tune of theirs. It had me jumping and grooving. This song just does it for me big time.

These are a few of my favourite things...

so far today:

• my tight stovepipe black jeans and my black and white gingham shirt
  
• other scruffy lads who wear such jeans
  
• that chicken sausage from The Rocks Farmers Markets for breakfast
  
• Yeah Yeah Yeahs "Heads Will Roll"
• window seats on flights to Brisneyland
• big smiles on faces
• George Clooney
• wanting to tell some people nearby they are "fucktards!" My word of the day.
• my Blackberry
  

I'm both amazed and disappointed all at once...

Kuroshio Sea - 2nd largest aquarium tank in the world from Jon Rawlinson on Vimeo.

Watch it in HD if you have the time.
This was truly mesmerizing to watch... And the engineering wonder of a solid clear plexi-panel that big is astonishing.

I dub thee "low rent Monday"...

I'm just not feeling the love today. God only knows why because it's an absolutely stunning day outside. From my new office I can actually see the sky. But something isn't right.

I've got a bit of a head cold. Well, to me it's more like my head is being sent to the bottom of the deepest ocean and the pressure of the water is going to make my head implode. My sinuses are just killing me. I attempted to blow my nose this morning and almost blacked out. Seriously, the room.actually.went.black and I lost my balance. The pressure from chewing my cornflakes this morning was sending sharp stabbing pains behind the back of my left eye every time I brought my teeth together to chew. I even opted to let them go soggy to ease the pain. SOGGY CORNFLAKES people! Is there nothing worse?! The only thing I can say is "UGH, this is so painful."

Not having my head together has impaired my judgment this morning in so many ways. I just grabbed any old pair of jocks this morning and I happened to get the ones where the elastic has decided to not do what it's supposed to. Walking to the ferry I could feel them slowly moving south. No underwear should ever sit that low. EVER. Then I noticed my big toe had poked its way through my sock. What could possibly top this off? Well, sitting on the ferry I realised I forgot to clean my teeth this morning. I know what you're thinking: Life is just so tough sometimes. I'm sooooooo low rent today. I wish I could just turn around and go back to bed.

But there is one saving grace. I'm listening to Miike Snow. This album is my fave. I can understand that this sort of music would be very inaccessible to many people and not to their taste, but for me, well, I just get lost in it. So let me share the song of theirs I disliked so much but now find incredible. It goes a little mental and trippy towards the end but I love it.

The current object of my desire...

We are a bunch of larrikans..

Last night the east coast of Australia was put on a Tsunami red alert. The Australian Bureau of Meteorology issued a warning last night at about 7:30pm. I, of course, was out at the local pub having a few beers with some mates and had no idea that this warning had been issued. As I wandered home I checked in with the latest tweets from friends and to my surprise there was a tweet about a tsunami warning. In disbelief I kind of brushed it off. About half an hour later I checked twitter again and there they were, even more tweets about the tsunami alert.

So I followed this up with a bit of web surfing and checked out the warnings myself and there it was: "under real danger of powerful waves following a major undersea earthquake off the New Zealand coast at 7.22pm (AEST). " So I popped on my shoes and wandered down to the beach to see for myself. Yes, probably not a great idea, but hey, I'd had some beers so my judgment was slightly impaired. When I got to the beach it was so calm. A little further up the beach a few more people had gathered so I wandered up towards them. These people had beers in hand, a couple of the girls had some champaign glasses. It was a tsunami party. We were all out to welcome the waves. Madness. But to me it kind of struck me as typical Australian behavior.

Another review of the warning revealed that the danger was downgraded but expected to last all night, so I wandered home and crawled into bed hoping that I wouldn't wake up floating in the ocean. It was kind of exciting knowing for the first time since moving so close to the beach that tsunami's are a rare but real possibility.

Let's go fly a kite...

I've been feeling a bit crap this week. Actually "crap" is the perfect word to describe it as I've had a tummy bug that's kept me, well um, very close to the loo. Get the picture? It's got me down. You know, wanting to eat real food, wanting to have a beer, wanting to leave the house and wanting just one night worth of good sleep. Today after my attempt at lunch I ran to the loo did what I had to do and then nothing. I haven't been to the loo for hours. I wandered down to the beach to fill my lungs with fresh air.

While I was there I felt the wind on my face. A reasonably strong winter wind was blowing in across the ocean. I needed cheering up so I ran home, grabbed my sports kite and headed back to the beach. A few minutes later she was in the air and my feet were being washed by the wash of the waves. Stress - gone.

The thing I love most about flying my kite on the beach is the fact that it's dad's with kids who stop and watch. Sometimes crowds gather near the surf club and watch me wrestle the winds. The second thing I love the most is getting my feet wet as I walk back against the wind and end up in the surf. The third thing I love the most is the fight to control the kite sometimes.

Overall, flying my kite makes me happy. I hope to one day, maybe next summer, get out there with a power kite and surf the waves as well.

The destruction of EVERYTHING

*This is not the most interesting post for others, but for me it is.

You know, in life, things change. Sometimes you are never aware of these changes. They are just part of your evolution. Sometimes a change is forced upon you by others. Then there are those personal times, when you're by yourself and something hits you in the face and says "Wake-up!"

Yesterday I attended a seminar on Adobe After Effects. It's to motion images what Photoshop is to the still image. Production of the moving image is the direction I want to head in over the next few years. I've dabbled but never really understood the creativity behind it. Yesterday, just like an epiphany, I got it. I watched a Foxtel boxing promo being put together and I now understand. I know it's not beyond me and I know exactly that this is my next evolution in creativity. Later in the evening I was sitting on the lounge watching TV and as per usual the very repetitive Discovery Sc commercials came on and I saw them in a whole new light. I saw them as layers, blend modes and compositions. I sat and deconstructed each commercial as it came on. TV was no longer TV. I can't look at a commercial as a commercial ever again. It's now all new. Every ad is processed, I can see the techniques used and how it was comped together. You may not notice the adjustment layers, the high passes and then screening modes but I can see them now.

So, while I was watching TV with new eyes and thought processes I sat eating my usual Friday night dinner of Pringles and beer. And then *slap* another realisation. I don't really like Pringles that much anymore. This is BIG news. I used to sit and easily eat a whole tube of these chips in one sitting. Now it felt like I was eating some sort of weird salty tasteless crap. I then realised that the previous Pringles that I bought was a few weeks ago and I wasn't really into them then either. My tastes have changed. This morning I found myself wandering around the local markets picking up bags of fresh peas and beans. Lately when I've been out for a pub meal I find myself ordering a side dish of green beans. I could just sit and eat them by the bowl. I cooked some up the other night for dinner. Just a single bowl of beans, lightly blanched, then transfered to a fry pan, tossed in the smallest bit of butter to make them shine, a drop or two of sesame oil and freshly toasted sesame seeds.

TV has changed. Food has changed. Where will this all end? How will this all end? These questions I know not the answers, but somehow my evolution continues.